Film Review: "Tigertail" (2020).

From Netflix comes Tigertail. This drama film written and directed by Alan Yang. In this poignant multi-generational drama, Pin-Jui is a free-spirited yet impoverished young Taiwanese factory worker, who makes the difficult decision to leave his homeland - and the woman he loves - behind in order to seek better opportunities in America. But years of monotonous work and an arranged marriage devoid of love or compassion leave an older Pin-Jui a shadow of his former self. Unable to sympathize with his daughter Angela and at risk of living out his retirement in solitude, Pin-Jui must reconnect with his past in order to finally build the life he once dreamed of having.

In May 2018, it was revealed that Yang would write and direct a Taiwanese American drama film for Netflix. By late August, Tzi Ma, Joan Chen, Hong Chi-Lee, Yo-Hsing Fang, Fiona Fu, Kunjue Li, Christine Ko, Hayden Szeto, Margot Bingham, Yang Kuei-mei, and John Cho were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and took place throughout New York and Taiwan. All of the flashback scenes were shot on film with the Arricam LT camera with Panavision G-Series and Zeiss Super Speed Lenses, while all the present day scenes were shot on digital.

The film stars Tzi Ma, Joan Chen, Hong Chi-Lee, Yo-Hsing Fang, Fiona Fu, Kunjue Li, Christine Ko, Hayden Szeto, Margot Bingham, and Yang Kuei-mei. So well-acted, you felt it. I thought it was a really, really solid movie, and I was very surprised by it. Yang and his fine ensemble of actors will soon enfold you in a journey of delightful twists and turns. And in the end, a romance you'll long remember. What makes a movie like this work is how much you care for the characters, and each one here is very well-drawn and fully dimensional. Playing a character who allows endless opportunities to speak his heart pass her by, Ma displays his full heartbreaking range dealing with the worst situation imaginable.

A richly textured drama about the tensions across two generations of a Taiwanese family, Tigertail typifies the filial focus of Yang. A wise and touching piece that matches the films of Wong Kar-wai and Ang Lee in its depiction of character and family dynamics as a source of human examination. The film is seasoned with humor and has a brisk pace. It's pleasing to the eye and stocked with zesty performances all the way around. This is a startlingly superior piece of craftsmanship, with the flavour of life and richness of the script conveyed via uniformly wonderful performances. The film is tender without being mushy, sweet without being syrupy -- and surprising in ways that can only make you feel moved. The film wins fans with its serious disposition as it turns a contemporary story about unrequited love into a deft Confucius farce and humanist drama. What the film isolates so incisively is a sense of cultural melancholia specific to the immigrant experience, a mourning for something lost in the process of existing between worlds.

Simon says Tigertail receives: